


You’ll Never Lose Me

by serafina19



Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: In good times and bad, there was something about catching a cab that brought Chloe and Oliver closer together. AU S9-10, starting prior to “Rabid.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly thought I was out of ideas for these two (besides the stuff in my archive/graveyard), but as usual, song lyrics inspired this. This might feel familiar to anyone who knows my older stuff, but as a head’s up, this is more of a series than a sequence of events. I'm probably a bit rusty at writing this fandom, but as always, my fingers are crossed that this works.

As Oliver opened the door to find that it was raining, he smirked because of course it was. The street was full of taxis, but the last thing on his mind was going back to the clocktower. Instead, he started to walk down the sidewalk, allowing the rain to coat his hair, run down his skin and clothes. He almost welcomed the feeling, not caring if he got sick because of it. At this point, this was something he thought he deserved.

Because the alcohol didn’t dumb the pain, the company he found at the club didn’t distract him anymore. Then again, why should it? What he had done, betraying his friends, turning his back on what made him a hero, he wasn’t sure if he could come back from that. The worst part was that he had come home after everything that had happened and on paper, his life was the exact damn same.

The company was still his, he was still a free man and when he managed to put on a suit one day and go into the office, all he heard was how his board wanted him to lead the recovery of the city. A stronger man, a better man, he would have taken the opportunity to look for redemption, to rebuild the streets and watch as the sun came out behind the clouds.

To Oliver, this was a cruel joke life had decided to throw his way.

It made him sick to even think about attempting to make things better. He wasn’t the hero in this situation, so he sure as hell didn’t deserve to become the saviour in the public’s eyes when he had caused so much damage. Heck, they should probably be hunting him down, making him pay, but Oliver had been too much of a coward to turn himself in. Of course, there was also the chance that he had retained enough brain cells to know the damage that would cause.

So he kept to himself, deciding on the perfect escape of becoming the person everyone thought he was already.

The past few weeks had proved the plan was proceeding accordingly. People’s expectations of him had fallen, his company had suffered, but it gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction, so he couldn’t stop. He even tried underground fighting for a while, almost grateful when Lois found him so he could tell her to stick with Clark. Good old Boy Scout was a much better choice these days. She could always know where his allegiances lay.

Yet there was one thing she said that he couldn’t seem to forget.

_“Just do me a favour and convince Chloe to take a night off sometime, okay? I know she’s still working for you, even if you don’t. And you may not give a shit about yourself, but if you could find your heart for a second and…”_

She had shook her head, as they both knew the end of that sentence, so the silence took over before she walked away.

The best, maybe the worst part of the act, was how easy it was for him to settle in and accept it, maybe even start to believe that this was his life from now on. Besides his run-in with Lois, he hadn’t thought about the team or Chloe for weeks and considering he was probably a walking cry for help, he didn’t care too much about trying to save others. So no matter how many times Chloe had tried to call him initially, he let the phone ring until she got the same idea.

They could do better. He was no leader. Either would do, but he hoped they understood both.

As the blocks blurred by, he brought up his head and pursed his lips at a laughing couple walking by him with their umbrella. He eventually found refuge under an awning, leaning against a building that was a popular smoking spot. The smell was still fresh and the evidence surrounded his feet, but that didn’t stop him from taking a deep breath in as the water dripped off his clothes.

He looked up, noticing the coffee cart across the street serving a blonde woman holding a paper above her head. She actually reminded him of Chloe, causing Lois’ words to repeat. He took a couple steps from the wall, remembering the other feeling that came up when he heard those words. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a while, but that felt like nothing compared to his reaction upon realizing that it was Chloe at the coffee cart.

Lois really wasn’t kidding, as it was only a matter of time before today became yesterday and Chloe was still in Metropolis. He was still walking blindly towards her, descending on the road from the pavement without a stutter step or falling on his face, a step up for him these days. He took note of the cab waiting for her nearby, but his pace remained the same until he heard a horn blare behind him. Chances were it was another cab narrowly missing him, but he kept walking. However, the sound was enough to get her attention and as she turned her head over her shoulder, she finally saw him.

The newspaper was soaked at this point, but she kept it up as she turned fully to face him. There was something strange in the way she looked at him, her head tilting slightly as she squinted in the rain. “Oliver?”

He stepped up on the pavement, around the back side of the cab. “It really is you.”

The confusion in her eyes immediately went away and she sized him up, likely taking in how soaked he was. After a glance back at the road, he was greeted by a familiar eye roll. “Get in,” she said. “You need this more than I do.”

Not exactly the line he was anticipating, but that was far from his biggest problem right now. Sure, he wanted to make sure it was her, confirm Lois’ suspicions, but he hadn’t planned on what happened if she saw him. The way she opened the door and waited for him to get inside implied that his plan was working, but he didn’t want the cab, nor did he want to walk away right now.

 “No need for you to go,” he said. “We can share.”

Maybe the rain had gotten to him, but he didn’t recognize his voice in that moment. At least his words seemed to have surprised both of them, as he noticed her hand shake on the car door.

“It’s okay, there are plenty of others.” Chloe took a step back from the cab, her eyes narrowed when they could stay open long enough due to the rain. “I’ve had a long day and I don’t think I can handle you drunk right now.”

“I’m not,” he countered loudly, mostly to ensure she heard him over the rain. He took a couple small steps forward, seeing how she immediately looked down at his feet, a gesture that felt like a punch to the gut, so he stopped, gesturing behind him. “I know what that looked like, and I’ve had drinks tonight, but I’m not drunk.”

He maintained his gaze at her, because it was the truth, no matter how silly this whole thing was becoming. They were soaked to the bone, yet neither of them would move, even with a taxi driver waiting for them to make up their mind.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Home,” he said, because there was only so long he could avoid the inevitable considering he didn’t have any other plans. “Going out doesn’t numb the pain like it used to,” he added before he had a chance to realize what he disclosed.

She was still for a few seconds, staring directly in his eyes, still looking for a sign to show the bluff that wasn’t there. She shook her head, as he seemed to have somehow won her over, even if she also appeared to already regret the idea before she spoke. “Okay, fine.”

He didn’t take long to listen to her, getting into the cab, grimacing as he noticed the cabbie’s expression, no doubt disappointed about them getting the seats wet. “I’m sorry about this sir, I can –”

“Back to start, miss?” he said, his harsh tone interrupting Oliver. He probably deserved that.

“No,” she replied before giving the cabbie his address. As she leaned back in her seat, she took a sip of her coffee, but it must have been watered down, because her face soured before she placed it in the cup holder.

“How are you?”

That was met with silence, besides the sound of the tires driving through puddles as the car continued down the road. Oliver turned his head and was met with a scoff. “That’s what you have to say?” As she leaned the top of her head against the headrest, he could practically hear the eye roll that was tempting to surface. “Radio silence for months, then you nearly get run over to get to this point and that’s what you have to say.”

She had a point, one he couldn’t do much to dissuade. Even now, he was trying to figure out why he was here. He had no problem ignoring her calls before, he had no interest in glancing back at the life he had left behind before. There was one recent development, but even that didn’t feel like enough.

But it was what he had, so he leaned into that. “Lois misses you.”

That got her attention. “You’re talking to Lois?” This time, her eye roll wasn’t hidden from him. “Who am I kidding? Of course you are.”

“She found me,” he said, intending to correct her, but soon realized that wasn’t the point. “I didn’t want anything more to do with her than you do with me right now.”  

Oliver wanted to say more, but the cabbie spoke up. “Is everything okay back there?”

No doubt he had seen the look on Chloe’s face, not to mention whatever he had heard before they got back in the cab.

“Yes, it’s fine,” Chloe replied, as Oliver knew better than to attempt to answer the question. He wanted to relax a bit in her response, but with a single shake of her head, he knew that she wasn’t done with him yet. “So this is your life now? Partying until you’re numb, plastering that stupid smile on every tabloid or social media selfie while you wander the streets alone, waiting to literally meet the gutter.”

“That’s the idea,” he said with his usual confidence, but deep down, there was something that didn’t normally accompany it.

Chloe shifted her body, her arms crossing her stomach. “I don’t get it, Oliver. Why do you want to convince people that you’re living like you have some sort of death wish?”

His lips pursed, as she was right, but it didn’t sound right when she said it. Unable to maintain her stare, he looked towards the window to see his reflection staring back at him. Suddenly, every reason came back to him, the embarrassment and shame he felt when he looked in the mirror.

As his left hand formed a fist, Oliver took in a deep breath, knowing what he had to say. “Ever consider the idea that Clark was right? That I’m not one of you anymore? After what happened, I don’t see much point in pretending to be something I’m not.”

It was a bit disturbing how easily his confidence seemed to return in those words, so he faced her again, not as easily fazed by the confusion in her eyes this time. Hopefully what he said next would be the blow he needed to walk away from this life for good.

“It’s not a death wish, it’s about embracing the fact that I’m okay with losing everything that mattered to the guy you remember.”

Her mouth gaped, her eyes frozen as they stared towards the middle portion of the backseat. They were a couple of blocks from the clocktower now, so he stared ahead, content on not saying another word.

Of course, it was never that easy with Chloe. “How can you believe that?” she asked, but he wasn’t going to answer that. So he glared at her, but it didn’t intimidate her, as her mortified expression turned serious. “Oliver, even you know that’s bullshit.”

Her tone had caught him off-guard, so his head jolted back, his expression softening as a result. Still, he knew that he couldn’t back down that easily, so he cleared his throat and looked forward again, this time knowing it was a coward’s move. “Does it really matter now?”

He heard her scoff again. “Of course it does, because you’re still you. I’m still recovering from what happened, but that doesn’t erase the good we’ve done, so I’m still trying. As much as I’d like to host my own pity party, almost everyone left. That means there aren’t that many options left for cleaning up this city and I refuse to let someone else clean up the mess I made.”

It was different for her, he thought, because she could do this in the shadows. It didn’t matter if it took place in back alley or a boardroom, Green Arrow or Oliver Queen would have made the papers, heralded for being a hero and he wasn’t one anymore. That was what he constantly told himself and what he wanted to tell Chloe, but was stopped by the passion behind her words, the fire that faded once she stopped speaking and shifted her body to face forward again.

“I’m no hero,” she said, likely considering her words carefully, as it wouldn’t surprise him if the cabbie was still listening, “but I’m committed to doing what I can. Because that’s who I am, even with my shortcomings. Unlike you, I won’t abandon my identity because of one loss.”

“ _One_ loss?” Oliver hadn’t intended to snap, that was probably what she wanted, but he couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you kidding me? That was –”

“Don’t you dare tell me what that was. I had my own front row seat,” she said, gritting her teeth in an attempt to keep her tone level. “By the way, Clark did the same thing, so it’s not even original.”

“What?”

She never heard his question, or chose not to address it as she continued, “Yes, we made plenty of mistakes, but it was really one lost battle. After that, I chose to learn from it and remember the reasons that helped us succeed in the past. Based on the results, I like to think that has worked better than enacting some stupid façade to make yourself believe that you don’t matter anymore.”

Oliver watched her shake her head as she caught her breath, then squeeze her eyes shut before turning her head to look out the window. “Besides, despite your best efforts, you haven’t lost your company. If you could have answered one phone call… you would have realized that you hadn’t lost me. But I’ve lost you, haven’t I?”

It should have been easy to answer that question. Oliver could let her down easily, tell her that it was better this way. Or, and this wasn’t his preference, scare her into believing it. But now that he was faced with that decision, hearing the soft way she spoke those words, the slight tremble in her delivery, he found that he couldn’t say anything.

Luckily, the cabbie bailed him out. “This is your stop.”

He honestly hadn’t realized that the cab had stopped, but at this point, the words didn’t feel like they mattered anymore. Maybe by leaving, that would cement her fears and they could move on because this would be better closure than him walking away from a distance in that graveyard.

So he opened the door on his side, without a care to the fact that it was in the lane of traffic. Once his feet hit the ground he took one last look at Chloe and suddenly, the words inside his head weren’t just his. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence these days, but it felt different this time. He kept his hand on the door, noticing how Chloe was still staring out of the window, waiting for him to close the door without a further word. It would be fitting considering what they were now, but something she said had stuck with him and that wouldn’t work for him anymore.

“Are you heading to Smallville?” he said, not looking at her, at anything in particular, to be honest. The cars on the road were blurs, the buildings didn’t matter, but the cab was clear to him, his grip on the door the strongest it had been in ages, besides holding a bottle or a glass.

“Where I go isn’t really your concern,” she replied, which ignited something in Oliver.

If she would have told him yes or no, there was a chance that he would have shut the door, let her continue living her life, but she had turned her head as she said that and her expression was enough to remind Oliver of one reason why he couldn’t quiet the voices in his head. “It became my concern when Lois asked me to make sure you had a night off.”

He tried to see her reaction, but she hadn’t moved, so he leaned down to get a better look, despite the multiple honks from cars around them.

“Sir, can you –”

“One minute,” Oliver said sharply, almost scaring himself at the tone he used. “You can time me.”

That seemed to be enough for the cabbie, so Oliver re-focused on Chloe. He couldn’t see her whole face, but he could see enough. Her wet hair and clothes, the shoes that weren’t built for this weather, but it was her eyes that betrayed her the most, the storm that seemed to be brewing inside that he wished wasn’t the case. How much of that was his fault from before? From tonight?

“At this point, it’s more like a morning off,” he said. “But it’s a win-win if you think about it. She lays off us both and then we go back to status quo.”

She was at least thinking about it, as he could tell that she bit the inside of her lip momentarily before she turned to look at him. “Is that what you want?”

To him, this offer wasn’t about what he wanted. Yes, he wanted to get Lois’ words out of his head, but he also didn’t like the idea of Chloe spending nights on a couch in the Isis offices or taking an hours long drive home at this hour.

As for the part of going back to status quo, that was a different matter entirely and now it was Chloe’s words in his mind.

“Look,” he said, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the cabbie called him on his timing request. “I know better than to tell you what you need. I’m certainly not in a place to tell you how to live your life.”

His breath hitched for a second as he saw that storm calm in front of him. She hadn’t caved, or melted to his words the way other women did, but it was still something to see that hint of concern in her eyes. “But I’d feel better if you were safe tonight.”

Oddly enough, that was true. While he didn’t care what happened to him, he wanted the team to keep moving, or rather, to move on and realize how much better they would be without him. If that meant trying to show Chloe that she could move her worries elsewhere, that would be worth it.

Still, his words had surprised her, but she was quick to shake it off, clearing her throat before she spoke. “One condition. If you consume one drop of alcohol, I leave, no questions asked.”

“I can make that work,” he replied, as he didn’t have any intention of drinking anyway.

She got out of the cab after paying the cabbie, so Oliver was about to close the door when he heard the cabbie call out, “Mr. Queen.”  He leaned down in time to see the cabbie turn around in his seat. “Yes, I recognized you. If anything happens to this young lady, I won’t hesitate to come forward and point the finger in your direction.”

In that moment, he wanted to leave a bigger tip, but knew that he’d likely think that Oliver was trying to bribe him. The last thing everyone needed was to make things worse, so he nodded. “Understood. The city could use more men like you, sir. Good night.”

The door closed and they headed towards the building, the rain still spitting on them, but it had done its damage before. But he got the impression that neither he nor Chloe really cared about the state of their clothes.

She didn’t say a word as she opened the building door, holding it an extra second for him to take it as she walked right up to the elevator. When it opened, she got inside, leaning against the back wall as Oliver activated it. He did little to hide the access information to her, showing it hadn’t changed from before.

He had considered it, but decided against it in case he did get run over one day. He had no intention of suiting up again, but the last thing he needed was his identity being revealed and police cases getting compromised, so worst case scenario, Chloe would at least be able to clear out the Green Arrow room.

Of course, now that they were here and the silence had settled in again, he was rethinking things because he wasn't the only one who had changed since that day. Not that he ever really knew Chloe that well, not that she wasn’t the same person he thought she was when he discovered that she was hiding Davis. The defiance in her eyes was always there, but it seemed to have taken over everything else.

It was hard to watch, so he decided that he had to break the silence between them, even if it meant repeating a question that she had refused to answer before. “So honestly, how are you?”

Chloe sighed, her head dipping before she said, “Oliver, we can skip the small talk. I know why you’re doing this, so you don’t have to pretend to be pleasant.”

_So… not good._

He deserved that response, every single word, but it still tore at him, especially when she stormed off the elevator the moment she could. He couldn’t explain it, but everything hurt more when it came from her than it did from anyone else.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

It would be easy to run, to leave her in a safe place for the night, while managing to disappoint her once more. But, for a reason that Oliver couldn’t quite explain, he closed up the elevator, feeling an unexpected sense of relieved tension as he took a step back afterwards.

However, he had kept his hand up, noticing the scars from the fighting ring that still remained on his knuckles. Those were a brief reminder of how far he had fallen, of the events that had led him there and of the person his mistakes had hurt the most.

“I know you don’t want me to say I’m sorry,” he said, dropping his hand to his side, but facing the elevator wall, “but I feel like I have to say it once.”

“No offence Oliver, but that would mean more to me if you weren’t acting like this.”

His head dipped, as he didn’t know if he could turn and face her just yet. “How do you do it?”

The sound of her heels clicking against the floor brought some needed sound in the room. It seemed like she was walking closer to him, so he brought up his head slowly. “Living out the definition of insanity is my vice.” He watched her walk over to the couch, place a hand on the back and sigh as her eyes focused on the floor. “Maybe one day I’ll get the result I want.”

He took a couple steps towards her, then thought better of it and settled against the nearby wall. “So you really don’t take a day off.”

Chloe shrugged a shoulder, her lips pursing as she found his eyes. “Someone has to do something to keep the team alive. Besides, it’s not like Lois was home a lot either.”

Of course that particular detail wouldn’t be in Lois’ report, but that wasn’t the point tonight. What the point was, he wasn’t sure, but he had gotten to this point and she had sacrificed her coffee to talk with him, so the least he could do was be at least a bit hospitable.

“Do _you_ want a drink?”  When she adjusted her purse against her shoulder, he put his hand up. “Just you, I swear.”

Her head titled to the side, her eyes analyzing him again, but he wasn’t going to give her what she wanted. She seemed to sense that, so she shook her head. “That’s not fair to you and it won’t help me.”

When her hands came up to rub her arms, he was tempted to get something for her, but there was a blanket inches from her hip on the couch that was likely the warmest thing within reach. He may not know a lot about Chloe Sullivan, but if she wanted something, she could handle it herself, so he didn’t want to push things between them. However, that didn’t stop him from wanting to do that.

“How is the team?” he blurted, not sure he wanted the answer, as it insinuated that he still thought about them and he didn’t want to get her hopes up in that area.

Based on her body language, that didn’t seem to happen. “Their voicemails seem cheerful.” She gave a sarcastic smile after that, her purse hitting the floor with a thunk. “Actually, that’s not fair, Victor’s been helpful and AC is coming to town next week, so I’ll have some street people soon. Plus, Emil’s been around when he can.” 

It wasn’t ideal for her, he could tell that, and it was a bit worrisome that at least Bart hadn’t come back. He wanted to ask about Clark, but based on her earlier comments, he could probably figure out that answer.

“It’s a start anyway,” she said, shrugging a shoulder as her eyes stared down at her feet before they tracked across the floor to him. “But what are you still doing here? Your clothes are soaked.”

Oliver laughed at her thinly veiled attempt to change the conversation, but considering it was something he was waiting for, he let her have the win. “So are yours, so we should probably do something about that.” He took off his jacket and whipped it over his shoulder carefully so it didn’t spray too much water. It wasn’t the most successful effort, but it was far from the worst thing he had spilled on the floor in the last few months. “Do you still have some clothes in your drawer?”

“I should.” Chloe picked up her purse and walked past him, allowing herself to grin as she passed his peripheral vision. “Worst case, I can borrow one of the guy’s sweatshirts.”

“There should be towels in the bathroom if you want to have a shower,” he called out. “And if you need anything else, let me know.”

Her steps stopped immediately, so Oliver turned his head just before she spoke. “ _Anything_?”

For the first time, there was something in her eyes that scared him, a sort of determination that he couldn’t figure out was a good thing or a bad thing for him. He tried not to let it show.

“Something tells me you’re taking that offer in a different direction,” he said.

This time, the grin grew, answering his question even before her eyes somehow grew more serious. “Then I guess I don’t have to tell you what I need.”

With that, she walked over to the first guestroom and closed the door. There was a clacking sound right after, no doubt her finally taking off her shoes, as her steps got a lot quieter.

He followed suit, hanging up his jacket and taking off his shirt once his bedroom door was closed, his belt not far behind. A shower would be the smart decision at this point, or at least bringing his wet clothes to the bathroom. Instead, he tracked down his phone near the wall by, but not hooked up to his charger. It somehow still had a charge, not much of one, but still impressive since it had been nearly a week since he had tossed it across the room, intent on ignoring it.

Still, he sat on the floor as he attached the charger, the notifications lighting up his phone. Most of the more recent ones were from Lois and Tess, mainly text messages, as they had all given up on leaving voicemails since his mailbox was full. It turned out that it was full of messages from Chloe. He listened to every one of them, not necessarily to content, but focusing on her voice, the way she shifted from calling him Oliver, then Ollie, then Oliver again. The last one in particular though, he did listen to.

_“I’m probably wasting my time leaving this, but this needs to be said. What happened, we played our part, made our share of mistakes, but we can’t dwell in the blame forever. Even if you never suit up again, you have hundreds of people counting on you to show up to work.”_

He could hear her sigh before she continued speaking. _“Right now that matters more than the fact that I miss my friend. These people need you to find the strength to run your company because Tess can’t do it like you would. No matter how dark we had become, you’re always going to be a good man to me. So please Oliver… find a way to forgive yourself. And if you need help, you’re not alone. I’m here. Anytime, anyplace. Just… don’t give up. Please.”_

Oliver saved the message, staring at the screen long after he dropped the call. The phone had told him that it was an old message from weeks, maybe months ago, but tonight, finally, her words had reached his ears.

 

**~0~**

 

The first thing he noticed as sun shone through his window was that, for once, it didn’t cause a throbbing headache or inspire Oliver turn over and go back to sleep. It wasn’t like he was ready to greet the day or anything, but he realized that he was ready to get out of bed.

So he pulled the sheets back and walked over to grab a clean t-shirt from his dresser before heading towards the kitchen for breakfast. He knew there wasn’t anything in the fridge, as he had trashed just about everything when he had smelled something dying in there two weeks ago. Since then, he had lived off booze and pop tarts that Bart had stashed in the cupboard. It was probably more processed sugar than he had had in years, but it was easy and he knew they weren’t going bad any time soon. There was only one left, but that suited him fine.

After pushing down the lever, he heard Chloe’s heels, so he left the kitchen. He thought she had already left, but now that she was still here, he knew that he couldn’t let her leave just yet.

She had almost reached the elevator, but he noticed her stop in place, likely sensing his presence, so he spoke up. “Leaving so soon?”

He was comforted by the fact that she wasn’t wearing her clothes from yesterday, which were peeking out of her purse. She had settled on a long sleeve shirt that brought out her eyes with a pair of sweatpants that didn’t go with her shoes, but she didn’t appear to care about that.

As her hand dropped to her side, her head turned to face him. “Life goes on,” she said with a grin, one that felt a bit more genuine than he expected. Her eyes were still tired, but he imagined that there would be quite a few nights before that would change.

After a step forward, he was tempted to offer her some breakfast, as that was the typical routine, before all of the chaos. But he stopped, reminded of the embarrassing state of his kitchen and that things weren’t normal anymore.

So he settled with the simplest truth he could find. “It was good to see you.”

She exhaled loudly and for a moment, let her relief show through the tiniest of smiles. “I’m glad.”

As he breathed in, he wondered if he was going to regret what he was about to say. “Did you mean what you said? I still haven’t lost you.”

It wasn’t like he didn’t try. He thought that she deserved to believe in someone else, in a different cause, yet here she was, stronger than the rest of them, committed to moving forward. Oliver always knew that she was strong and a bit intimidating, but it wasn’t until now that he saw past the tired eyes to see the full extent of her passion and conviction that had gotten her to this point.

So he felt further relief when she nodded slightly before responding. “I find there are two reactions to being pushed away like you did to me, to everyone really. You probably wanted me to move on, to forget, to not care, but most people… they wait and hope that the person they remember comes back in their own time. It doesn’t matter if it’s months, years, they never lose that hope.” 

Chloe looked right at him, her eyes narrowing as she took a single step forward. “So if you wanted to lose everything, Oliver, then I’m not sorry to disappoint you.”

With that, she took a deep breath and turned around without a further word. Oliver wanted to say something, but how did someone follow that up with a stupid farewell like _see you later_? Or even a simple thank you? So he watched in silence as she got in the elevator, as she looked at him with hope in her eyes before the door closed.

For a minute, Oliver re-lived everything that had happened since Doomsday. He thought about how his routine had changed, how long he’d been living as if nothing mattered. The decisions he had made, the deviations to his life he was convinced was for the best. Cobwebs growing on his desk, notifications lining up on his phone, his liquor cabinet getting empty. All this time, he wasn’t really sure what he had wanted, but he kept doing it, not caring for any other plan. But in under twelve hours with Chloe, there was something he didn’t expect, a few feelings that he hadn’t known in a long time.

He turned and walked back into the kitchen to see the pop tart had finished toasting. He picked it up and stared at it, realizing that he had to make a change, so he threw out the pop tart and went to the freezer, grateful to see a loaf of bread sitting there. A two minute search of his cupboards later and he found an old jar of almond butter, so he put a couple pieces in the toaster.

While he waited, he walked over to the main room, looking over to where the Green Arrow room was. It was hard to believe that he had considered burning everything in that room not long ago, but as he opened it, the only change was the dust. He ran his fingers over the table until they collided with his bow. It had been weeks since he used it, so it likely needed a bit of care before he started using it again, but he didn’t care. He picked it up, slotted in an arrow and stared ahead at the target.

_“So if you wanted to lose everything Oliver, then I’m not sorry to disappoint you.”_

His fingers released at the same time he let himself slowly exhale. It wasn’t a perfect bullseye, but it was a decent shot, which worked for him. This was something that he wanted to earn.


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver stepped away from the podium, knowing that people wanted more answers. A few months ago, this company seemed to be on the path to failure, but now it was set to launch a new program ahead of schedule. He knew journalists had jobs to do, that Lois would be trying to track him down for an additional quote or two, but this time, he was fine with sticking to Tess’ plan, to giving a short appearance and focusing the messaging around the provided press release.

Granted, that was also because there was a more pressing matter once he got to his car. “Follow that cab,” he said, hoping he had enough lead time on the reporters to keep up with the taxi that had just taken off down the block.

He hadn’t anticipated that she would come today. The last time he saw her was months ago and despite that contact, her phone calls had stopped. No doubt her plan was to hear the speech and get out without being seen, as he noticed the way her expression had changed when he spotted her. Part of him wanted to stop, to react to her presence, but he kept going and watched her chuckle in response.

After stepping away from the podium though, he had noticed her get into the cab and drive away, so he knew that he had to act quickly. His part was done anyway, as Tess was handling all questions from here. Oliver didn’t like the idea initially, but he owed her that much and honestly, he was okay with that if it meant that he could catch up to that cab.

Fittingly, it had stopped at the same coffee cart, while Chloe was walking back with a cup in her hand. However, when she saw his car, she shook her head before leaning against the door, waiting for him.

Once Oliver’s driver pulled over, he got outside, watching her the whole time. As he shut the door, she called out, “You did well up there.”

“Then why did you leave so soon?”

Chloe shrugged a shoulder before she moved to stand up straight and take another sip of her coffee. “I saw what I had to.”

He wanted to think that was a compliment, but he wasn’t sure that he knew Chloe well enough to say one way or the other. All he knew was that he wouldn’t have been up on that podium without her, so to see her there, it meant more to him than he thought.

“I’m glad you came,” he said, hoping the rest would be communicated through his tone. “And sorry that I haven’t been in touch.”

She tipped her coffee cup towards him. “You’ve been busy in a way that didn’t involve a bottle. That was enough.”

He wanted to tell her that he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in six weeks. It would have been longer if he didn’t slip up one night, but he had smartened up to have the single drink and walk away. Deep down, he knew he wasn’t an alcoholic, that he would still have a drink from time to time. For now though, Oliver wanted to make sure he took the time to take his work seriously, to ensure that her belief in him wasn’t in vain.

“Actually, considering you did follow me here,” she said as she opened the door. “You know how you asked me where I was going last time we saw each other? You should see it. That is, if you don’t have press obligations.”

Oliver shook his head. “I wouldn’t have left otherwise,” he said, only half believing that, to be honest. “We agreed that Tess was the better person to handle the rest.” That will change someday, but playing the figurehead role worked for today until he had built a stronger knowledge base. “Just give me a second to give my driver the afternoon off.”

“Excellent.”

When his car took off, he entered the cab through the open door, closing it behind him as he looked at Chloe. Again, she tried to hide it, but she could see a bit of excitement in her eyes.

“So things are well with you?”

She grinned. “You keep asking that, so I guess I better answer it this time.”  Chloe spread her hands across her leg, her fingers tapping lightly against the material of her skirt. “Things are okay. They could always be better, but everything’s looking up.”

What she didn’t mention was that a new threat to the world had emerged and the team was still fractured. Oliver knew and he wanted to tell her that he knew, but this wasn’t the time or place. Besides, he wasn’t about to wreck the smile that flashed across her face. It was a huge relief to see her like this, to know that things had indeed picked up since they last spoke.

“How about you? You must be pretty pleased with how things have gone lately.”

“I am,” he replied. It took a lot of late nights to earn the respect from his board, Tess, but most importantly, his staff. Tess was hesitant initially, but she was relieved when it seemed to be genuine. He still would have done it without her approval, after all, his name was still on the wall. But getting her on board was a good step and Oliver knew he had to give credit where it was due.

Of course, that didn’t diminish what Chloe had done. Many people had left messages, had tried to pull him out of his funk, but there was something about Chloe’s messages that had stuck with him. Even in the moments when she thought he was too far gone, she trusted him that night.

“I owe you thanks for that,” he added, watching as she faced him again. She seemed surprised at the gesture, but he kept his expression serious. She had to know he meant it.

Her lips parted but she took a second before she replied. “That’s sweet, but you saved yourself. You just had to remember who you are.”

The present tense was not lost on him, so he grinned at her. “I did. Hopefully, this was the result you were hoping for.” Her eyes narrowed at that. He supposed that he couldn’t blame her for forgetting that particular comment from that night. “You mentioned something about living out the definition of insanity.”

“Ah yes… that,” she said. He watched as she rolled her eyes but her expression remained light. “You recovered nicely. A lot better than I expected, actually.”

Suddenly, her face paled and he wondered if something was wrong. Her eyes shifted downward and he could see her thinking about something. “But this wasn’t about me, right?”

“No,” he replied, but he could tell that she wasn’t quite convinced. Trust Chloe to worry about inspiring something good, but he also got it. If he did it out of pity, this could be undone easily.

The thing was, technically, she had sparked his rise from the ashes. The way she spoke about the company, reminding him of what he had left, the people who still relied on him. Maybe his employees would never know how far he had fallen, but he could use that to ensure they still had jobs, that this company continued to stand for something.

“After you left that day,” Oliver said, staring down at his hands as he swallowed hard. “I took a hard look in the mirror, started reflecting on what I had done, on how I reacted to my mistakes. I realized that I still had a chance to change for the better.” 

It wasn’t an easy transition and it was one that he probably shouldn’t have done alone, but he wanted to. He felt like he had to do it alone, to prove it to himself that he could. While he didn’t sleep much, Oliver put a lot of work training his body and trying to pick up what information he could from emails so he wasn’t blindsided when he walked back into the office.

When he saw everyone’s surprised face the first day he walked in, Oliver knew it was the right call. They had underestimated him, just like he had hoped before all this, but that allowed him to do what he always did. Again, it was a lot of long days, weekend work, sometimes working in the trenches if that was what it took, but it helped employee morale and Oliver was able to get a taste of what his father must have experienced years before he was born.

It was a real treat, one he wouldn’t trade for anything. When he first stood at the podium today, it was the clearest the air had felt to him in months. His confidence felt like it was back and the hard work had paid off.

Then he saw her and it almost all came flooding back. Oliver managed not to slip on his speech, in answering questions, but inside, he felt an extra warmth that he didn’t expect.  “It meant a lot to me that you came today. I should have called, but…”

“I heard about it from Lois and circled it on my calendar,” she interjected. He figured that was just a figure of speech, but she showed him her phone calendar, causing him to chuckle. She laughed back as the screen went black again. “Trust me, Oliver, this was something I wanted to see for myself.” 

Her eyes met his again and he watched them soften. The car had stopped, but neither of them seemed to notice it. They sat there, looking at each other, when Chloe reached out and patted her hand against his. “I’m proud of you.”

There it was again, that warmth he had felt on the podium. He never really needed her approval either, but having it felt pretty good, so much that he wanted to ignore the cabbie when he told them they had arrived.

Oliver reached for his wallet, but Chloe had already handed the cash to the driver, who thanked her as she left the cab. He followed her out and looked up at their destination. It took a second for him to get his bearings, as he remembered this building well, but he had hoped that he was mistaken.

Because this had to be a mistake right?

“Chloe,” he said, stopping her from opening up the front door. She turned and looked at him, likely knowing what was coming next, but he said it anyway. “Last time we were at this building…”

Even if there weren’t people walking on this block, there was no way that he could finish that sentence. After a couple walked between them, Chloe swallowed hard. “I know, but I have my reasons.”

That wasn’t the point, but he wasn’t about to argue considering the places he sunk to, so he walked towards her and entered the building. “So this is not a coincidence?”

“No, it’s not,” she said as she hit the button for the elevator. He entered right behind her and leaned back as she opened a panel in the elevator and manipulated a few things to expose something behind it. She punched a few numbers and then reached into her purse to pull out her wallet. She opened it up and took out a piece of paper.

“Your passcode.”

Oliver stared at the paper, not sure why he was hesitating to take it from her. When she shook it again, he finally reached out. “I have a passcode.”

“Every team member has one, even if you’re not suiting up,” she said plainly, but Oliver felt a little confused. Sure, he felt confident in his job, but this felt different. Whatever was upstairs was no doubt an important part of the team, but Oliver wasn’t sure if he deserved this yet.

When her laugh pierced the silence, he looked up at Chloe as she head tilted towards the panel. “We’re not going until you put that in, so any time you’re ready.”

She moved aside, allowing him to better access the panel, so he opened up the piece of paper. It was a simple action, but it felt like more to him. However, if Chloe believed that he was ready, maybe that could be enough for today, so he punched the numbers in and the elevator came alive. The numbers kept increasing, but Oliver leaned back, knowing exactly where they were going.

The doors opened and the hallway still felt familiar, the double doors were still the same. Oliver almost didn’t want to go inside because the last time he was here was a part of why he didn’t think he could come back from what happened with Doomsday.

Except when he opened the door, Oliver realized that a completely different place had replaced the one he remembered.

“Wow,” he said, which felt like an understatement. There were still similarities, but there was significantly more furniture, including couches and tables, a medical section with a few visible first aids kits. The most notable change was the increase in technology. The servers, monitors and a sizable console that took up a decent area of the room, not to mention the ones that were on the second floor of the unit.

It was just a quick scan of the room, but he must have shown how impressed he was, because Chloe was grinning pretty wide when he met her eyes again.

“It’s a bit of an improvement from Isis, right?” she said, turning her back to him as she approached the console. She settled into a rhythm for a minute, having a sip of her coffee before returning her attention to him. “Sorry, just needed to check a few things.”

“It’s okay,” Oliver said, as it was nice to find that some things didn’t change. “But I have to say this. Of all the place you could have set up… you chose here?”

She sighed, her head dipping before she spoke. “I know what this looks like, but this place was already in my name, or rather it was. Besides, I didn’t want to use more of your money than I had to in case you barged in and asked me to stop.”  He was about to tell her that would have never happened, but she pressed on, not seeing that he had opened his mouth. “For the record, I really hope that I didn’t overstep. I just…” When her voice trailed, she looked up and seemed to take in the details of the room. “I wanted to believe that you wanted this to keep going even if you were out.”

It was funny. He had noticed her continue to spend his money, as Chloe had done little to hide it from him. Part of him wanted to be mad, but he stopped because while he had stopped fighting, it was comforting that at least his money could keep doing some good.

But seeing what she had done was a completely different matter, especially since Chloe had every reason to quit. Instead, she advanced their resources, provided this city with hope that she would never be recognized for, even though that never mattered to her.

“I did,” he said, wanting to tell her all that he was thinking, but decided against it. Then again, he could at least compliment her efforts. He looked up at the console on the second floor again and shook his head. She really thought of everything. “And you did a great job with this place.”

“Thanks!” He could hear the smile in her words, so he looked down at Chloe and returned the gesture. It truly was amazing how easily the world seemed to lighten up when he saw her smile. Considering the losses she had endured, the fact that she still could was impressive.

 “Anyway,” she said, the smile slipping off her face, but she kept her expression neutral. “I thought I could walk away from here and forget what happened, but instead, I chose to consider it like a shrine, to remember the cost of our mistakes, the sacrifices. To be better this time.”

Oliver nodded, slowly realizing that he couldn’t keep all his thoughts to himself. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

“Not all of it.”  Chloe walked over to the console and leaned her back against it, explaining how Victor had helped her with the servers and the guys had helped move things. She had even found a way to incorporate Lois, who helped with the interior decorating for what she assumed was an office. “Don’t worry, she never saw this space.”

The way she followed that comment with a chuckle comforted him, implying that her relationship with her cousin had gotten better again. That gave him hope for the person who would inevitably become the elephant in the room. “What about Clark?”

Unfortunately, her face immediately fell and she stared at her feet. “He… he’s busy with Lois right now… and honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him yet.”

“Are you ready to forgive me?”

He had hoped for her head to pop up, to tell him otherwise, but she just grinned. “It’s different with you, Ollie.” It wasn’t much, but he couldn’t stop the smile that formed at the use of his nickname. She took a couple steps away from the console and let out a long breath before her eyes came back up.

“Yes, you left, just like he did, at the same time no less. But even though we had a friendship, you and I, we don’t have the same history,” she said. “You didn’t owe me anything, I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t throw your life away.”

“I might have, if it wasn’t for you.”

“Yeah, well,” she said as her head tilted. “Thanks for taking the subtle hint. I was approaching the possibility of hitting you with a truck.”

That sounded a little overdramatic, but something told him that she wasn’t kidding. “Seriously?”

When she just shrugged, that clinched his suspicion. “Like I said, you were living like you had a death wish.”

He wanted to tell her otherwise, but as he remembered his exploits during those weeks, there wasn’t much of an argument that she was wrong. Oliver wished that he could have taken it back, as he never wanted to hurt her like that, but what was done was done. At least she could still talk to him. Heck, she allowed him to come up here.

“So,” he said, needing a shift in conversation. “You still do the comms work, right?”

When she nodded, Oliver grinned. He was really glad to hear that at some semblance of the team had remained through all this. Honestly, considering the brief time Chloe had been on the team, he was downright grateful that she picked up everything so easily.

“How have the guys been doing?”

“Good,” she replied. “I’m still working on Bart and Dinah though. They haven’t picked up my calls.”

“They will,” he said, with more confidence than he expected.

She sighed, but he could still see the hope in her eyes, which was a promising sign. “I don’t know about that, but I’m not giving up yet.”

“Neither am I.”

That got her to stop moving. He could tell that she knew that he meant it, but she turned her head over her shoulder and eyed him curiously. “Just so I know, what does that mean? For the team, I mean.”

That was the million dollar question for her, he knew that. It wasn’t a question he thought he had an answer for, but the longer he stood here, Oliver realized how much he had given up, but also what he could allow himself to get back. So he took a deep breath, watching her eyes that hadn’t stopped watching him since she spoke her question. He had noticed her curiosity that night in the rain, but she wasn’t hiding it as much as she had before.

“If you have me… I want to come back soon.”

She smiled, a hint of relief in her exhale before she turned her head away from him. While he got a hint of her reaction, Oliver wished she would have let him see the whole thing. “That would work for all of us.” He was about to say something, but she whirled around and started to walk backwards towards the console again. “Do you want a round on the comms for tonight? The guys are likely both out there tonight. We could split them.”

Honestly, he did, but Oliver put up his hands, knowing that as far as this place was concerned, he was practically a stranger. “I don’t want to impose.”

Chloe scoffed, so he dropped his hands. “Please, the guys would be thrilled.”

He head tilted. “Just the guys?”

“Me too,” she said with little hesitation.

Finally, Oliver decided to move towards the console to stand beside her. He looked up at the screen, trying to piece together everything that she was working on. “Then you better show me the ropes because I’m probably a bit rusty.”

“That would be my honour,” she said, leaning over to nudge her shoulder against his arm, causing Oliver to look towards her again. When their eyes met, she smiled. “Welcome back Arrow.”

 

**~0~**

 

A few hours passed before the elevator alerted them to Victor and A.C’s arrival. Chloe grinned at him as they turned at the sound of the double doors opening. Both men paused initially, but the smiles on their faces were incredibly welcome.

“Well, how about this?”

“Hey guys,” Oliver said, not even trying to hide the smile that was on his face. It helped that it didn’t seem like they did either.

Victor was first up, so they shared a glance before he raised a hand. Oliver took it and gave him a hug, clapping his hand against Victor’s back. As he backed away, Victor said, “’Bout time you showed up.” 

“I agree,” A.C replied, following up with his own hug. It was strange, Oliver always knew what he was leaving behind, but actually feeling it now, he wondered how he had ever thought he could stay away forever.

Without turning her head from what she was working on, Chloe asked, “Who wants him on the comms?”

Victor’s head tilted to the side before it shook slightly. “C’mon man, you should hit the streets, I can cover here.”

It was a gracious offer and not unexpected, but Oliver knew that he wasn’t up for that. He was still practicing with the bow at home, sharpening his skills, but he knew that he wasn’t in the physical shape that he needed to be to do patrolling yet. “Thanks Victor, but I need a bit more time before I go out in the field.”

“I can help with that if you want.” A.C. placed his hand on Victor’s shoulder. “Tin Can over here doesn’t always offer the best challenge on the sparring mat and honestly, I’ve missed your gym.”

Victor clearly wasn’t pleased, so he shoved the hand away and gave A.C. a glare, which didn’t sway the other man at all. “If I have to deal with fish jokes, you get metal jokes.”

“I kicked your ass last week,” Victor said.

“You cheated.”

“That’s what all sore losers say.” 

A.C. scoffed, letting the petty squabble subside until he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Dibs on Chloe.”

“Thanks,” Oliver said sarcastically. He didn’t really mean it, as he couldn’t blame A.C. for wanting experience in his ear tonight.

“I agree,” Victor said before looking towards Oliver. “If you’re insisting on staying here, then if you’re not sure about something, I can walk you through it if Chloe’s busy.”

It was Chloe’s turn to scoff before she called out, “Ye of little faith.”

Victor chuckled as he turned his body to face Chloe. “It’s a good thing, Watchtower. I don’t doubt your skills, you can handle just about anything, but we don’t want to push our luck.”

Chloe nodded. “In that case, you boys need to get ready. The last few nights have been busy, so the sooner you get out there, the better.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The guys went towards the stairs, but Oliver decided to leave the console. There were a few things he needed to discuss with them before they left.

Victor seemed to sense that, so he spoke up at the base of the stairs. “So when are you suiting up again, boss?”

He swallowed hard, not quite sure he had earned that title again, but based on his conversations with Chloe, he didn’t want to deny it. “In a few weeks likely. I’m still getting back into patrolling shape.”

A.C. grinned, his hand going up to rest against the stair railing. “That’s great. We’re really glad to have you back.”

They had showed it before, but hearing the words still had an effect on Oliver, even more than he expected. “I’m glad you’ve been here for her and helped keep the team intact. I should have been better, but –”

“Don’t do that,” A.C. said. “We get it, Oliver. Even if we weren’t here, we get it. We should have been here for that fight, so of course we came back when Chloe called. She’d do the same if we called her, so no need to thank us.”

“Agreed,” Victor added with a nod. “Take care of yourself until you’re ready.”

Oliver sighed quietly, glad to reassure the guys that he was back for good. “That’s the plan.”  As he looked back over to the console, he started to realize that returning to his role of leader would be easier than he thought, so maybe he should start acting like one again. “Until then, we’re relying on you to keep these streets safe.”

It was a small comment, but the guys seemed to recognize the effort, so they grinned at Oliver before heading upstairs to get ready. Meanwhile, Oliver went back to stand next to Chloe, who was ready to give him the last tutorial for what he would need tonight.

 

**~0~**

 

It was almost strange to feel the silence settling in again. For a few hours, Oliver had worn his headset, helping Victor patrol. A few hiccups happened along the way, but Chloe walked him through everything. Luckily, it was a pretty uneventful night, so Oliver even had a chance to listen in to Chloe.

She made it look easy and he remembered what it was like having her in his ear the first time. It seemed effortless then, didn’t it? He was so focused on the mission that it never felt strange that he was letting a practical stranger come onto the team. There was so much that he didn’t know about her, but gaining her trust was something that had come to matter to him. He had regained most of what he had lost because of it.

Oliver must have been staring too long though, because she had stopped working and looked at him. “So how did it feel?”

“Good. Really good.”

Chloe continued to type away before saying, “You’re a natural at this. I really thought I’d have to help you more.”

He shrugged. “Beginner’s luck probably, but I’m willing to test that theory. Is it okay if I come by tomorrow?”

That got her to stop typing and turn her body towards him. “That’s why I gave you the passcode.”

“Well,” Oliver said as he placed his headset on the console and took a couple of steps back. "I should probably head out. I know I have a long day tomorrow. How about you?”

“I’m just wrapping some things up.”

He wanted to believe her, but there was something in her voice, the reminder of the midnight coffee and Lois’ comments that made him want to speak up. However, he held it back, knowing that even if they were inviting him to be a leader again, this was something else he had to earn.

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Oliver gathered up his stuff, he took a better look at some of the items on the couch. The folded up blanket should feel like a typical thing to store there, but next to it, he noticed the lounge pants and what looked like a toiletry bag that weren’t there before.

It was then that Lois’ words from echoed in his mind once more, so he looked over his shoulder, noticing how Chloe hadn’t lost a beat since he left the console. As much as he wanted to say something, tonight didn’t feel right. But that didn’t mean he intended to ignore this. He owed her too much to do that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I took a bit of a break from writing, but I'm hoping that I can post the rest of this more frequently from here.

After another successful night of patrolling, Oliver gathered his stuff and prepared to leave, but paused in the doorway to watch Chloe as she worked away. She had to know that he was standing there, but he never moved, as he found himself somewhat fascinated by her, this commitment she had to saving the world, no matter the cost.

He had returned from patrolling twenty minutes ago, but she retained her focus on building the database, on building a plan to fight Zod. Things with Clark were still strained, but overall, they were better. Of course, that didn’t stop her from creating at least two contingency plans in case his original plan would fail, which in Oliver’s mind felt inevitable, but he played his part as well as Chloe did. After all, a lack of trust was what got them in this mess, so they told Clark to move ahead, but insisted they would keep pulling things together behind the scenes.

Clark didn’t like it, he rarely did because of his unusually high moral compass, but he allowed the compromise. He was even patrolling again to make up for signing off as Clark Kent for months. They all knew that he also hoped it would help Chloe return to regularly scheduled life, but it hadn't changed anything. Oliver hoped that he’d be luckier tonight.

“You know the world can survive for a few hours without you right?” he asked, expecting the resulting chuckle she gave him.

“I’m just about done.” When she didn’t move her eyes from the screen, he started to walk towards her, even though she probably would have preferred him to leave like he did every other night. That was the point.

He looked up at what she was working on. Important stuff, it always was, but also something that they couldn’t afford to mess up, and it was only a matter of time before she pushed herself too hard. As he glanced down, he found her common ally, which now had steam rising from the mug.

“So that’s why you just filled up your coffee.” That meant she planned to stick around for at least another half hour. Or, for all he knew, all night. For weeks, he tried staying quiet, but he couldn’t anymore. “I know I’m hardly qualified to be the boss of your life and I’ve only done a few patrolling shifts, but you can’t do this every night.”

No doubt this had become her norm, which allowed Oliver to understand why Lois had asked him that favour all those months ago. Sure, he had meant what he had said, as it wasn’t like he should be telling anyone what to do, but he experienced what happened when he had gone too far down a pathway. Being a workaholic had better perks than a substance abuser, but the former could lead to worse, so something had to give.

If nothing else, the way that she looked at him now with a mix of exasperation and exhaustion, was hard enough to take. “What else do you suggest?”

It was luckily a question that he had an answer for, even though he never anticipated her asking for his opinion. “Be normal for a couple hours before getting some actual sleep? We should watch a movie or something.”

“Seriously?”

“Why not? I could use a normal night to be honest.” Another unfortunate truth, as he had pulling twelve hour days for weeks. Oliver wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Chloe was managing these days.

But she stayed where she was, seemingly calculating the words in her head, trying to find an explanation. One of the things that drove him nuts was that she had picked up a habit of thinking that anything good had a catch or an ulterior method.

Granted, he technically did, but his intentions were much better than she would assume in this moment. “For the record though, this is you asking right?”

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, because if that was the worst of her concerns, then this may be easier than he thought. “I haven’t seen Lois in two weeks.”

She just barely showed a grin, a victory that Oliver would take, until she turned quickly to stare at the screen again. “Fine, I think I can make that work someday.”

Honestly, he was tempted to laugh. He wasn’t sure if it was out of fatigue, frustration or genuine humour, but there was something about this simple gesture that got to him. However, he knew he had to act quickly, because if he didn’t, the subject would get dropped and he couldn’t risk it.

“I was thinking tonight.”

The typing stopped, her head titling slightly before she turned her head to face him again. There was something in her eyes that she barely let him see, an emotion that he never thought he’d see in Chloe. However, in a second, it was gone. “It’s late Oliver, I don’t think anything is playing at this hour.”

Not even giving him a moment to react, she was back at it, as if he had never asked her. “I have a television at the clocktower,” he said.

“If that’s the case, we could do it here.”

“Except the whole point is to get you out of here.” It wasn’t what he meant to say aloud, but he didn’t want to take it back either. “C’mon Chloe, I’m not that bad company.”

She whirled around, her finger up in protest. “That’s not…” He must have had a convincing expression, but it took seconds for her to give her head a slight shake and return her hand to her side. “Okay, just give me a minute.”

“Take your time,” he said, glad that he was able to convince her to come with him. He was going to look pretty stupid later if he hadn’t.

But he kept his eyes on her, slowly walking back to the doors while she wrapped up everything. Powering down the necessary screens, activating the security protocols, it seemed like a dance when she did it. It almost looked too easy, but she had kept to her word, stepping back from the console with her purse in her hand. He couldn’t quite read the look on her face, but it didn’t seem to be all negative at least.

As they took the elevator down, he leaned back against the wall, intent on keeping the ruse up for a bit. “So any preference to what movie you want to watch?”

She scoffed. “Not really. It’s not like I pay attention to what the biggest trends in movies are, or know your movie collection.”

As the elevator descended, Oliver pulled out his phone, keeping an eye on how things were proceeding elsewhere, but also trying to ensure that Chloe wasn’t noticing. She glanced his way, but didn’t say anything, which was a relief, but understandable. For all she knew, this was about work and Oliver wasn’t about to correct her.

When they got to the lobby, she followed him outside. It had stopped raining, but that didn’t stop Oliver from standing on the edge of the sidewalk to stare down the road.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

When he turned his head, he noticed how she was already heading down the street. It was almost enough to get Oliver to break his poker face to a smile, as this was far from the first time they had left Watchtower together, but they typically walked back to the clocktower. So, of course, he couldn’t blame her curiosity, but he answered honestly.

“Hailing a cab.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

It was true that it didn’t make much of a difference whether they walked or took a cab, but it didn’t feel right to treat this like just another night. Not to mention that, as much as he typically enjoyed their walks together, Oliver wanted to get to the clocktower as soon as possible. So he glanced down, trying to find a reason he could actually tell her.

“It’s likely easier on your feet. I don’t think those are the best walking shoes.”

It was flimsy, as he had seen her walk around Watchtower in those heels for weeks, so her response was expected. “I’ve been standing in these for at least six hours. I think I can take a few more blocks.”

“Okay, fine. I’ve been running around all day and I want to take it easy for five minutes,” he said. Also not his best back-up plan, but this was about taking a break after all. Maybe it would work?

It didn’t look promising initially, as Chloe took a couple steps towards him, so he turned his head before she could read him too easily. Fortunately, there was a cab coming down the block, so he hailed it just as she said, “Why do I feel like there’s something else going on here?”

“Because that’s how your journalism brain works,” Oliver replied, still focusing the cab, but relieved by how easily those words came to him. When the cab arrived, he opened the door and grinned confidently at Chloe. “Sometimes, it’s just an old guy who needs his rest.”

She raised an eyebrow, likely holding back a laugh. “I’ve seen your abs, Oliver. If you’re that type of old, then we’re all in trouble.” That got his attention, but she didn’t let him cut in her thoughts as she walked towards the door. “But if you’re admitting to being old, I guess I can admit that my feet are actually killing me.”

“I honestly don’t know how you can stand that long in heels.” Not that he wanted her to stop wearing them though..

 “Practice, I guess.” She looked down at her feet, her heel lifting off the ground so she could see them better. “Besides, it defeats the purpose of shoes to have them sit in the closet, right?”

He definitely wanted to concur with that statement, as they were really great shoes, but he swallowed back that response, allowing him to better focus on the real goal for tonight. “Hence why we need to do more together outside of work.”

“So what’s next?” she asked as she got inside the cab, staring back at him once she was settled in the seat. “A team movie night?”

Oliver’s hand twitched before he followed her inside, closing the door and giving the cabbie his address before answering her. “It’s not a bad idea, is it?”

He looked at her, but she was staring out the window, her lips parted slightly, a lightness to her eyes he hadn’t seen in a while. “No,” she said softly, “that would actually be pretty nice.”

The scene in front of him should have felt right, familiar even. However, her suddenly relaxed nature stirred something in Oliver. “You okay?”

Chloe nodded. “I was just thinking about how things have changed since that night.” He wanted to ask her which night she meant, but there was no easy way to do that considering their present company. “I didn’t think anything could bring you back, but it’s good to have you back.”

Oliver grinned, placing his hand on top of hers, wanting to say more, to tell her again how much he appreciated her unwillingness to give up on him. But this was enough for now. “It’s good to be back.”

When they arrived at the clocktower, he let her walk past him to the door so he could check his phone to ensure things were in place. All signs were pointing to yes, so the hard part was over. The only thing left to do was get her up the elevator.

Except when he put his phone away, Chloe was staring right at him.

“Ollie, if you have work to do, we don’t have to do this tonight.”

He shook his head. Even when she wasn’t in front of the console, even when it felt like she was relaxed, Chloe still found a way to notice things. Fortunately for him, they were so close that Oliver wasn’t going to let anything stop this from happening. “Trust me, everything’s fine. I wouldn’t waste your time like that.”

That seemed to satisfy her, so they walked inside together and got into the elevator. Chloe walked to the corner while Oliver pulled back the gate, but she spoke up just before it closed. “I’m serious Oliver, I don’t you to backslide for any reason.”

She really was something else, as Oliver knew that he had never met anyone who would be this concerned about him, even after all the progress he made so far. He really must have scared her before, something that he had every intention of making up for now. Hopefully tonight was a leap in that direction.

As he walked up to the gate, he opened it slowly, trying to figure out what to say before everyone could hear them. “I’ve learned my lesson, Chloe. If something goes wrong, I know who to come to.” He took his first couple steps and turned around to look at her. “C’mon, it’ll be fine. A movie is the perfect way to unwind.”

She walked out of the elevator, still not convinced, but there wasn’t any time for that.

“Now!”

Her eyes narrowed at his sudden exclamation, but was soon overwhelmed by the chorus of “SURPRISE!”

Chloe stutter stepped back as everyone came out of their hiding place, eventually settling on a quiet laughter once everyone stood behind Oliver. The team. The whole team.

“I’m surprised all right,” she said, scanning the faces before staring back at Oliver. “It’s not my birthday.”

“No, but I thought if I told you about this, you’d say no.”

Chloe bit the inside of her lip, her head shaking once more before she walked forward to give Bart a hug. The younger man was more than willing to return the embrace, but Chloe cut it quickly to do the same for Dinah. She was less enthusiastic about the gesture, but she let Chloe have this one, grinning as she patted Chloe’s back. Once Chloe backed up, she smacked Oliver’s chest. “Are you kidding me? If you would have told me that you got Bart and Dinah to show up, I would have come running.”

That was probably true, but selfishly, he wanted to see this reaction, he wanted this to happen in a place outside of Watchtower. “Maybe, but wasn’t it much more fun this way?”

“For the record,” Dinah said before Chloe could answer, “I would have preferred a more direct reveal as well, but we’re here now. And we are sorry that we ducked your calls, Chloe,” Dinah said. “I did want to come back earlier, but I… I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Things had a way of crumbling around me and it wasn’t until Oliver called that I realized that everyone was feeling that way.”

“I don’t have a good reason.”

“Sure you did, Bart,” Chloe replied, putting her hand on his shoulder, resulting in him grinning at her. “You blamed yourself. We all did. There’s no shame in that, especially now that you’re back.”

“You guys pick a movie while we were gone?”

“We sure did!” Bart said.

“We are not watching that,” Victor replied.

“You have a better idea?”

“Guys!” Oliver said, rolling his eyes  as he couldn’t believe how quickly the stupid fighting had returned. Even if it was harmless, it wasn’t what he had in mind for tonight.

Except Chloe wasn’t disappointed. She was laughing, her hand slightly covering her mouth as everyone stared at her. “No, it’s… it’s great. It’s so good to have everyone here again.”

“This is nothing compared to what you did, you know that right?” A.C. said, as if he knew exactly how Oliver was going to respond to that.

“I just –”

“You just saved the team, Chloe,” Victor interjected.

“My sentiments as well,” Emil added, a moment that Oliver couldn’t have scripted better, but it didn’t stop there, as Dinah stepped forward.

“And before you say that we came back because Oliver called us, that call would have meant nothing without your efforts to show us this team still stood for something.”

There was a whoosh in the room, surprising almost no one. Oliver had noticed Bart shifting on his feet as Dinah spoke, trying to find the right thing to say. The guy wasn’t known for his words, but a lightbulb seemed to go off in his mind as he zipped into another room to bring her a bouquet of fresh tulips.

“I can’t believe I almost forgot about these. It’s not much, but they’re from all of us.” Bart held the flowers towards her. “They’re just the beginning of us trying to say thank you.”

She took the flowers gladly and smelled them, her eyes lighting up as a result. But as they all continued to look at her, as she blinked a few times. “Can we watch the movie before I start crying?”

“Gladly,” Oliver said. “I’ll put these in water. You guys play nice while I’m away, okay?”

He only half meant that, but the team nodded, so he took the flowers from Chloe, hoping he still had a vase around somewhere. When he finally found one, he filled it up with water and put the tulips inside. Oliver hadn’t known about these, but that was probably for the best. He had noticed Chloe glance his way once during their speech and he was pretty sure the look on his face showed his lack of knowledge, hopefully convincing her that everything about this gesture was genuine, not staged.

Honestly, he was proud of the team, as it appeared to have the effect he wanted on Chloe. To remind her that she had been heard, that they were grateful. He hoped to say his two cents later, so he put the flowers down in the other room, knowing that would ensure he wouldn’t forget about the other part to his surprise.

 

**~0~**

 

After the movie, it was pretty late, so everyone went their own way slowly. After Dinah closed the elevator gate, Oliver looked over his shoulder to see Chloe picking up dishes, so he shook his head.

“You don’t have to do that. I told you I’d handle dishes,” he said, having a feeling that he knew what was going to happen and she didn’t disappoint, walking right past him.

“The dishwasher does all the hard work, Ollie,” she said. “And I can handle a few dishes.”

So he let her put them in the dishwasher, finding himself leaning the wall in the doorway. Truth be told, the movie ended up being more background noise, but that was okay because the team kept trading stories. It was truly a relief to take a night for themselves, even if it started extremely late, because it was a promising start to their new beginning as a team.

“You’re pretty proud of yourself right now, aren’t you?” Chloe asked, shaking him from his trance. No doubt the grin on his face had grown and Oliver did little to show her otherwise. “I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out.”

He wanted to tell her that it was probably because it had been a while since someone had done something like this for her, but he decided to come clean instead. “What if I told you that wasn’t the only surprise I had in mind for tonight?”

Chloe blinked. “Is that why you were so quiet earlier? Did you buy me something? Please tell me you didn’t. This was… this was enough.”

“Not quite,” he replied, gesturing his head so that she would follow him. She took the hint, so he headed to the room where he put the flowers. It had taken time to put this together, but he wanted to be perfect. He thought it was before, but he would have to thank the team because the flowers gave it that extra special touch.

When he turned on the light, he watched as her eyes narrowed, as on the surface, it was the same guest room. The same paint and flooring, the same sheets and decorations, but with the help of his computer and a bit from Clark, he had found some pictures of her and her friends, of some good moments with the team and had replaced the frames that used to hang here.

When she recognized a couple of the new photos, her mouth gaped and she walked past him, taking in every detail. When she picked up one of the smaller frames on the dresser that held a photo of her and Clark, Oliver thought she was going to cry again, but she swallowed hard and kept her tears at bay. He knew that one was a risk, but things between them were getting better. In fact, Oliver also invited him tonight, but Clark insisted on the late shift to ensure she didn’t suspect anything and so this would go off without a hitch. This was his way of trying to make amends, a gesture that Oliver appreciated.

Next to that frame was something special from Oliver. After that first shot he took, Oliver left that arrow on the target. After a couple of days, he took another shot and missed the bullseye and left it there. Then a week later, he took another shot, this one feeling more natural than the rest and it hit the bullseye.

That was his motivation for the next week, but eventually, he knew he had to practice more if he wanted to come back. So he took a picture of the target and got a custom frame made with a simple message.

_You’ll never lose me._

As her fingers traced the frame, he started realizing how cheesy this was, but the moment she looked his way again, all those thoughts disappeared. “Oliver, what is this?”

“That,” Oliver said, pointing to the frame. “That is the answer to the question you asked me in the cab. I realized that we don’t have a lot of photos with just the two of us, something I intend to fix, but in the meantime, I wanted you to know the words that I was too afraid to say before. You’re not losing me, Chloe, I promise.” He took a step back and gestured his arm around the room. “But this… this is your room.”

“What?”

He approached her slowly to place his hand on the dresser, his eyes averting contact for a second. “I talked to Lois and she said that you’re not coming home that often.” Hearing her objection before he spoke, he flicked his eyes up without moving his head. “Before you ask, I got this idea weeks ago and she had nothing to do with it.” 

When Chloe’s reply went away, he exhaled a small breath of relief. “Look, I don’t blame you for staying at Watchtower. It’s a long drive back to Smallville. That’s why I want to offer you with an alternate place to sleep in Metropolis.”

As she looked around, he tried to read her expression, but it wasn’t easy. He could tell that she was touched by the gesture, but he couldn’t help but think she was seconds from saying no.

So he decided to speak up again, hoping to tell her why he did this. “I know it’s probably a bit much, but to me, this only scratches the surface of returning the favour of what you did. The moment you get your own place, you can move out, no questions asked. But it’d make me feel better if you were here.”

When their eyes met, finally, he could tell that what he had said was enough. “One condition.”  

“Name it.”

“I pay rent, which I determine.”

Technically two conditions, but he decided not to call her on that. At this point, Oliver wasn’t picky on how she accepted. “I think I can make that work.”

They shook hands and he took note of how her smile grew slightly in front of him, so he knew it was time to let her unwind. As he walked back to the door, he pointed towards the dresser. “Also, there might be some new pyjamas in the second drawer.” Sure enough, her mouth flew open, but he quickly added. “They cost less than fifty dollars, I swear.”

“They better.” Chloe looked towards the dresser again, her eyes firmly on the frames, a moment that he didn’t feel like interrupting, so his hand gripped the doorknob, ready to let her be. Only her voice interrupted his progress. “Thank you… for everything tonight.”

He peeked his head around the door and as he stared at her, it really felt like he was seeing past all of her walls for the first time. “You’re welcome. Sleep well, Chloe.”

After he closed the door, Oliver walked towards his room with the feeling that he was about to have one of the best sleeps he had in a long time.

 


End file.
